Database/Solvent/Propylene Carbonate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Propylene Carbonate natural?

No. Made from propylene oxide, an explicitly petrochemical feedstock, reacted with carbon dioxide.

INCI namePropylene Carbonate
CAS108-32-7
FormulaC4H6O3 · 102.09 Da
FunctionSolvent · Viscosity Controlling
FeedstockIndustrially produced by reacting propylene oxide, derived from…

How we scored it

Cyclic carbonate ester of propylene oxide and CO2; the propylene-oxide backbone is petrochemical.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Industrially produced by reacting propylene oxide, derived from petroleum-based propylene, with carbon dioxide. No commercially significant natural-origin route exists.

In plain English

A synthetic solvent used to dissolve other ingredients in a formula. Made from petroleum-derived propylene oxide reacted with carbon dioxide.

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Structure

2D structure of Propylene Carbonate

4-methyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-one

PubChem CID 7924 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Propylene Carbonate. PubChem CID 7924. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3PROPYLENE CARBONATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4PROPYLENE CARBONATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PROPYLENE%20CARBONATE